Broken Beauty
by Rebekah Matthews
Summary: (Revised) Set after the events of New Moon but before Eclipse, Edward has a fight with Rosalie and heads off hunting. Rosalie goes to see Bella after she wakes from a nightmare and they have a heart to heart. Being a vampire means never moving forward but is Bella ready to accept change in her life before it's no longer an option?


Author's Note: Thank you to my reviewers who left their thoughts the first time I published this one shot. I wasn't sure about this writing at all, but after reading it again, I realised that the one shot was not as bad as I thought. However, I have added a little more to this story to really make it feel more complete. Please leave me your reviews and let me know what you think. They are always appreciated. - R

Disclaimer: the song used in this story is _All I've Ever Needed_ by Nikki Reed and Paul McDonald.

Broken Beauty

Edward was on his way down the stairs, making his way towards the closet under the stairs where the Cullens kept their coats and jackets, for appearances sake, of course. He frowned when he didn't find what he wanted and turned, right as Esme appeared behind him with his jacket in her arms.

"I had it washed for you," she smiled, handing it over.

"You are such a mom, Esme," he replied, rolling his eyes affectionately. "You didn't need to wash this," he frowned.

"Well, it's nice to freshen things up," she said, ruffling his hair.

He ran his fingers through his bronze hair, not in the least bit improving its usual untidy appearance, though it always had worked in his favour.

"Well, I'm going to Bella's before she sleeps then I'm going on a hunt with Alice before she wakes," he informed her. His eyes betrayed that he'd rather not leave her, especially after the events that led to them almost losing each other completely. Esme bit her lip, rubbing his arm comfortingly.

"She knows we're all here if she wants any of us," she reminded him. She observed the dark circles under his eyes and his darkened irises. "You're overdue a hunt. Again," she said pointedly.

He sighed. "I know," he nodded, then turned his attention to the thoughts that just invaded his personal headspace, making him clench his jaw.

Esme turned around to see Rosalie and Emmett walking through the back door and into the wide-open space that was, to the human eye, the living room. Emmett looked jovial as usual, but Rosalie's face had irritation written all over it.

"Hello, dears," Esme greeted them, absentmindedly, her attention on Edward.

"Off to Bella's, Edward?" Emmett grinned.

He nodded, as Rosalie gave an involuntary roll of the eyes. Since Alice and Bella had returned from Italy with Edward, she'd been more reserved towards Bella. No one said it, but Rosalie was trying to be less hostile towards her but sometimes her distaste at their relationship still made itself known. She stood by her vote that she wouldn't support Bella's transition into a vampire and though her reasons were justified, they came off bitter. Edward and Rosalie did agree that Bella's mortality should be savoured but regardless, that didn't unify them.

He glared at the blonde beauty standing at her burly husband's side. "Why don't you just scream your thoughts from the rooftop for everyone to hear, rather than give me a thundering headache as usual, Rosalie?" he growled.

"I never invited you in, did I?" she bit back.

"I didn't think that was possible?" Emmett mused.

Esme looked between her three children, wondering why Edward's temper was coming out to play again. "Vampires can't get headaches, Emmett," she answered, impatiently.

"They can with Rosalie Hale in their head," Edward argued.

Esme glared at Edward. "What is this about?"

"Rosalie's natural talent to hold onto grudges," Edward replied. He then rounded on her. "You seriously need to get over it and stop punishing others for it."

"I'm punishing no one," she dismissed with a flourish of her hand. "Get out of my head."

"You forget, sister," he said menacingly, "that I see far more into people than they wish me to see. Your beauty is only skin deep."

Rosalie hissed furiously.

"Hold on a second, Edward," Emmett frowned, his hands resting on Rosalie's shoulders.

Esme raised her eyebrows, the upset evident on her heart-shaped face.

"I'm sick of your resentment," he continued relentlessly. "You've punished Bella since before you'd met her. She's done you no harm but love me in a way that I never gave you. Your shallow, self-obsessed mind repelled me from you before your transformation was complete."

"Edward," Esme interrupted tentatively.

He ignored her and continued, his annoyance and frustrations coming out in an unstoppable torrent. "I understand, probably better than anybody because I can live the pain of your loss in your head, that you never wanted this life, but I won't stand for you to share your bitterness with everyone else, especially Bella. You refuse to support Bella, even after everything she was forced to suffer through the past year? I don't want to end her life, but you forget, you forced this life onto Emmett because of your selfishness. The very life you so despise."

A silence reigned over them.

"I was dead if she didn't, Edward," Emmett murmured, breaking the silence.

"And thanks to your wife, Alice, Bella and myself could have been, too," he snarled.

"That was not my intention!" Rosalie exploded.

"No, you wanted things to be back the way they were," Edward mocked. He angrily pushed his arms through the sleeves of his jacket. "I won't stand by for an eternity to see you treating Bella like a plague on our family."

"I don't have a problem with her," Rosalie spat, "it's her choices!"

"Her choices are what make her Bella," Edward replied flatly. "And thanks to you, those choices are no longer an option."

Rosalie's eyes hardened, and she made to attack him in her anger, but Emmett kept his hold on her shoulders.

"Edward, you need to stop this," Emmett said, all joviality gone from his face. "This isn't fair."

"What isn't fair is that she's never gotten past her stupid observation that there's _too much bad blood between us_ ," he quoted. "It was her vanity and pig-headedness that stopped us from getting on, not the fact that I can unwillingly read her mind."

"Maybe if Edward had kept away from her in the first place, none of this would have happened," Rosalie countered.

"I tried to keep her safe!" Edward hissed. "But look at her now! I have to see her, a mere shadow of herself, in the minds of others in the months I was gone. She hates it when I have to leave her, and I can't do anything about it." He took a frustrated intake of breath. "I can't take any of it back." He gave Rosalie one last glare, turning to the door, squeezing Esme's hand in apology on his way past. "I'll be at Bella's," he stated shortly, before slamming the door behind him.

Esme shook her head, shooting out of the back door in a blur. Emmett snaked his arms around his wife and held her in a tight embrace until she couldn't take anymore and extracted herself from them.

"Thank you but I want to be alone," she mumbled, the rage gone from her golden eyes.

Alice abruptly stopped, causing Jasper to zoom past her. Confused, he halted, peering behind him at his wife who he recognised was lost in a vision. He appeared at her side again, his arm resting around her waist until she came out of it. She sighed, turning to look at her partner.

"Esme is around here somewhere," she said, pulling a face. "Edward and Rosalie got into an argument over Bella."

Jasper cringed. "I'm glad I wasn't around to witness that."

"Well, Esme's upset, Carlisle's at the hospital and I'd rather he didn't come home to see her upset like this." Her face went vague for a moment. "Yep, you'll be helpful." She grabbed his hand and took off running.

"And why would I be helpful?" he asked.

Alice simply rolled her eyes at him. She stopped abruptly, causing Jasper to jolt to a stop. He frowned at the little pixie, then followed her eyes up the large tree in front of them. Esme was sat on a branch, swinging her legs sadly. Alice took an effortless leap and landed with the grace and poise that could cause a ballerina's heart to break. Jasper joined them on the branch, sitting on Esme's other side. Together they consoled her until Alice left her in the company of the empath to seek out Rosalie.

"Rose?" Alice called out, skipping her way into her bedroom. She immediately noticed her perched on the edge of her bed, staring out of the window, where Alice joined her.

"What do you want, Alice?" Rosalie asked warily.

"Edward will be joining me in an hour," she said.

"Why are you telling me that?" she demanded, raising a perfectly delicate eyebrow.

"Because I see you visiting Bella," Alice enlightened her.

"It has nothing to do with that know-it-all," she grumbled.

"He won't know you'd been there," Alice continued. "He'd just assume that it's the scent of his family that he carries with him."

"Fine," Rosalie grumbled, leaving a gust of air behind her as she ran out of the open door.

Bella groaned as she tossed and turned in her sleep. Her eyelids fluttered as she relived the horrors of Volterra again. The nightmare distorted the memory as she saw Edward's body be torn apart and set alight in flames. She felt the grief and fear grip her as she watched seven thirsty vampires advance towards her. She screamed herself awake and shot up in bed. Immediately her head shot towards her door, her hands clamped over her mouth, to listen for Charlie's movements in case she woke him up yet again with her nightmares. She was relieved to hear his steady snoring. After all, he'd become accustomed to this over the past several months. Then she looked around her room and called for Edward.

She turned in response to the movement at her window. "Edward?" she whispered.

"No, I'm sorry," a soft, delicate voice answered from the shadows of her room. "It's Rosalie."

She made her way to Bella's bedside, hesitated then sat down next to Bella.

"Rosalie?" Bella checked in exasperation, rubbing her eyes. "Why are you here?" She couldn't help but be aware of how odd it was to have beautiful Rosalie sat in her ordinary bedroom. "Where's Edward?" she asked, sitting up.

"He's with Alice, hunting," she replied gently. "He'll be back in the morning. I came to speak with you."

Bella sat up straighter, leaning her back against the headboard of her bed.

"Okay," she said slowly.

Rosalie considered her for a moment. "You know, I'd never realised how brave you were. I always put it down to stupidity."

Bella gawped at her.

"I'm sorry," Rosalie smiled. "I really am grateful that you went to save my brother, especially at the cost of your own life. I'd never considered how much you really loved each other."

Bella bit her lip, looking down at her lap, unsure how to respond. She felt Rosalie shift from her position on her bed and looked up at the blonde who was glancing around her bedroom. She felt herself blush, as her chocolate brown eyes met Rosalie's glistening golden orbs and she once again looked down at her hands resting in her lap.

"It seems like nothing, doesn't it?" Rosalie asked, gesturing around the room at Bella's possessions that hadn't changed in all the years that she had been living in Phoenix. "So easy. Building a life." She walked over to Bella's dresser and picked up a teddy bear that looked old. She looked back at Bella who was staring at her. "Your room is the same as it was before you left Forks with your mother, isn't it?" she asked, eyeing printed paintings of hands that were small enough to be a young child's.

"Yeah," Bella nodded, "well, Charlie never did anything with it after I left."

"But you didn't change it when you came back," Rosalie observed.

"No," Bella agreed, the question evident in her eyes.

"Don't you see, Bella?" Rosalie sighed, placing the teddy bear back upon the dresser, twirling round to sit herself back on the bed. "There's still time to change! But you won't let change happen. It's normal… human." She leant forward slightly and grabbed Bella's hand. "Once you die, there will be no moving forward."

Bella frowned. "I've almost died three times already. If I had, there would be nothing."

Rosalie dropped Bella's hand and sat back.

"Is that what your nightmares are about?" she asked, a hint of compassion burning in the back of her eyes.

Bella's frown deepened as her eyes shot to meet Rosalie's face. "They're nothing," she replied hastily, fiddling with her bedsheets.

"Bella," Rosalie sighed, "you make horrendous choices, but your ability to lie is no better."

"It's just when he's away," Bella mumbled, tucking long strands of hair behind her ear. "It's like he takes a part of me away with him. I'm dead without him."

Rosalie pursed her lips. "Things got better when I found Emmett," she mused. "My first years as a vampire weren't the fairy tale ending you think it is. It was empty, cold… frozen. I have the love of my life, but we'll never change. There will always be something missing and that's the part that you'll miss the most."

"All I want is Edward," Bella argued, lowering her voice as she heard Charlie's snore get louder from his room.

"But at what cost?" Rosalie pondered. "There's so much you can't have. Everyone you know will die. You can't have a family, or a career, or friends. There's so much lost."

"And so much to gain," Bella murmured. She looked directly into Rosalie's perfect face. "I have Edward and all of you."

Rosalie considered her for a moment. "Edward is right," she commented, continuing in response to Bella's expression, "you are stubborn." Bella gave her a half-smile at the echo of Edward's words. "It will be enough for a while, but one day, after another sleepless night, you'll want more."

"There's nothing more I need," Bella disagreed. "You all complete me."

"And feed into your fears," Rosalie replied flatly. "Since you entered our world, you've had traumas, injuries, heart break and abandonment, yet you still maintain that this is better."

"None of those things can happen when I'm one of you," Bella replied.

"The nightmares are telling you that these things are not good for you, Bella," Rosalie insisted. "I want you to have a life."

"I don't have a choice anymore," she said with finality. "The Volturi will always be watching."

"I'm sorry about that," Rosalie whispered, "but I don't want you to give up your life sooner than you have to. Live, Bella. You have to live. Be more than your feelings. Be the human being who is capable of so many things. Things we cannot do."

Bella leant forward and took Rosalie's hand in her own, squeezing it gently. "Thank you, Rose, for valuing humanity. It was quite different in Volterra."

Rosalie patted Bella's hands that clasped one of her own and she smiled gently at her. "You have always frustrated me, Bella and I suspect you always will, but I can't fault your bravery and loyalty."

Bella thanked her again, releasing her hands from Rosalie's. The blonde vampire's perfect eyesight, even in the dim light, picked up on the dark circles under Bella's eyes and she sighed.

"You should sleep, Bella," she suggested. "That nightmare seemed intense."

Bella blanched at the memory and grimaced. "Yeah, it was," she agreed. "Rosalie, why did you come to see me?"

"I thought it was obvious," she replied, raising her eyebrows. "No one deserves to spend their life broken." She got up and made her way to Bella's window. She turned back to face the brunette wrapped up in her blankets. "Bella?" she called to her, glancing once again around her room. "Change your bedroom. It's been frozen in time for too long and it needs to reflect the Bella now, not five-year-old Bella." She looked at the little painted handprints stuck to her noticeboard and pressed her lips together.

"I suppose you're right," Bella smiled, watching as the blonde beauty fled from her bedroom.

She got out of bed and reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a picture of herself standing in front of Edward. She smiled at his lean six feet two figure towering over her, his arms embracing her protectively as always. She looked up at her noticeboard and unpinned the handprints painting off and placed it on her desk, only to replace it with the picture. She stepped back and hopped back into bed. The moonlight shining through her window illuminated the picture of them both, the glow of the moon reaching her. She looked down to find her scar glittering and for the first time, she allowed herself to succumb to her humanity and drift off to sleep. The nightmares reminded her that she was a little broken, but not beyond repair.

Rosalie flew through the trees and raced over the driveway, slowing down as she neared the Cullen household and gently opened the front door. She knew that Jasper, Emmett and Esme were nearby. She glanced at the grandfather clock positioned in the corridor leading through into the open living room and noted that Carlisle would be come from the hospital soon. She followed Esme's sweet scent through the house and up the stairs. She paused outside of Carlisle and Esme's bedroom and knocked softly.

"Come in," Esme's voice invited from inside the room.

Rosalie walked in and let the door swing back behind her. She crossed the room and sat down next to Esme on the grand bed. She tucked a long golden lock behind her ear and looked at Esme with her lips pressed together. Esme continued to stare into her lap where her hands were resting. Rosalie sighed.

"Esme, I'm so sorry you were upset," she apologised sincerely.

"Rose, we've had this argument for many years now," Esme replied, looking up at her adoptive daughter. "I just wish you and Edward could get along and neither of you have found a way to do that."

"He's just an insufferable know-" Rosalie started, then abruptly stopped at the unimpressed glare from Esme.

"It's okay for siblings to fight," Esme pressed. "But you're bringing Bella into this. She should not even factor into your rivalry. I know you have many disagreements and you lost a lot. I can really, truly empathise, Rose, but we're not all made the same. She is a part of our family and none of us can change that, even if you wished otherwise for her." Esme sighed. "We all need to heal, Rosalie. You shouldn't be so sad."

Rosalie looked at the woman who had been her mother figure since she joined the Cullens and yet again, saw a little of herself in her. Esme and Rosalie were able to bond in ways that the other members of the Cullens couldn't hope to achieve. She understood what Esme meant. It was our experiences that shaped us and motivated our decisions. Rosalie leaned towards Esme and put her arms around her.

"I'll try, Esme," Rosalie told her. "He may annoy me until the end of the Earth, but Edward is my brother. I just want more."

Esme sat back out of their embrace and considered the beautiful vampire sat in front of her.

"Emmett wants to see you," Esme told her. "Carlisle will be home shortly. We'll go out to hunt. I'm going to draw."

Rosalie followed Esme out of the bedroom, and she went up more stairs towards her bedroom with Emmett. The familiar rustic scent of Emmett filled her senses and felt herself relax before she'd entered his immediate presence. She opened the door and found Emmett lounging on the couch against one of the wall-length windows that afforded them the view of the colourful forests beyond their home. Emmett looked up and a grin broke out across his face, looking like he'd just won a billion dollars and in his eyes, he had. He stretched his hand out towards her, inviting her to join him. She walked into his open arms and she sat between his legs, leaning back into his broad chest.

"How was Bella?" he asked.

"She was having a nightmare when I reached her house," she answered. "I think she's fine. She just doesn't understand what it means to be immortal. She doesn't get what it entails to become one of us."

"For her, none of that matters," Emmett told her. "She's family and we protect family, even if we think they're being ridiculous."

She nodded, saying nothing. The question surrounding Bella's mortality was never going to be answered without an argument and a lot of emotion. She knew that Emmett was looking forward to having his littlest adoptive sister join the coven. They'd discussed it at great length, but there was no compromise for her. She simply envied Bella. She has a choice, Rosalie didn't. Emmett and Rosalie sat like this for some time in silence, just basking in the other's company.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"About what Esme said," she replied.

"Which bit?"

"She told me not to be sad," she half-chuckled. "I don't know what that means." She sighed. "I really hate it when Edward gets in my head. He claims he has no control over it but surely he could just butt out. He hasn't had the problems we have had. His parents died. He would have died anyway. He only lost his life. There was nothing waiting for him. And he just gets so self-righteous with me, assuming he knows everything. He doesn't."

"Babe, don't listen to what he says," Emmett urged. "It was at your request that Carlisle change me. I don't wish you hadn't. It gave me you. It's all I ever needed."

"Emmett," Rosalie sighed.

Emmett shifted and stood. He stretched his hand out to her and she frowned, taking it. He pulled her up and pulled her across the room to their sound system.

"Emmett, what are you doing?" she asked.

"I have something for you, so that you can never doubt that you are all I ever needed," he said, taking a CD from the shelf and putting it in, pressing play.

Rosalie listened as the piano started and after a few bars, the recognition passed over her face. She looked at Emmett in amazement.

"That's the piano piece I've been playing for weeks!" she exclaimed. "How did you get this?"

Emmett cupped her face with his big, square hand and smiled. He nodded for her to listen.

 _My bed sheets feel empty_ _  
When you're not home  
Your heartbeat helps me sleep  
Your breath soothes my soul_

 _Baby, you're all  
Baby, you're all  
Baby, you're all I've ever needed  
You're all I've ever needed_

 _And I love you more than I knew  
I could ever love someone  
And got it all so deep  
I can barely even breathe  
If I need a shelter from the storm_

Rosalie looked at him, emotion evident on her beautiful face.

"Is that… you singing?" she said in astonishment.

"It's a one-time thing, Rose," he said.

"How did you get the piano arrangement?" she asked.

"I've been listening to you playing for weeks," he shrugged. "So, whenever you were out hunting, I sat down at the piano and tried to mimic it."

"You've been playing the piano?"

 _Baby, you're all  
Baby, you're all  
Baby, you're all I've ever needed  
Baby, you're all  
Baby, you're all  
Baby, you're all I've ever needed_

"Yeah, turns out I'm really bad at it," he laughed.

Rosalie shook her head in exasperation at him.

"So, how did you get the finished piece?"

"Edward," he answered shortly. He saw her jaw tighten momentarily and he brushed her cheekbone with the back of his fingers. "He cares, Rose. He may be an ass most of the time, but he cares."

He took her hand and twirled her under his arm, bringing her into a dance in the middle of their spacious room. She felt a profound sense of calm wash over her as she let herself be twirled around the room in Emmett's big, strong arms.

 _And every promise I made  
Has lead us up to this day  
Please, remember my love  
When you've forgotten your way  
And this ache in my heart  
Makes me want to stand tall  
I let them take me down  
What if this isn't my fault?  
Tell me it's, tell me it's not my fault  
Tell me it's not my fault_

"I know I'll never be grey-haired at your side, surrounded by our children," he murmured into her golden hair, "but you're all I ever needed. There's not a single day I regret."

 _Baby, you're all  
Baby, you're all  
Baby, you're all I've ever needed  
Baby, you're all  
Baby, you're all  
Baby, you're all I've ever needed  
You're all I've ever needed_

 _And I love you more than I knew  
I could ever love someone  
Baby, you're all  
Baby, you're all  
Baby, you're all I've ever needed_

Downstairs, Esme was stood in Carlisle's arms, listening to the music above and Esme found herself smiling at the tenderness between her adoptive children. A little love, warmth and understanding was all she ever needed. In the end, they were all just humans… drunk on the idea that love, only love, could heal their brokenness. It was the one real, true and good thing they were certain that they had to offer Bella in their small piece of forever.


End file.
